Identifying suboxide grains at the metal–oxide interface of a corroded Zr–1.0%Nb alloy using (S)TEM, transmission-EBSD and EELS. (February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hu, Jing; Garner, Alistair; Ni, Na; Gholinia, Ali; Nicholls, Rebecca J.; Lozano-Perez, Sergio; Frankel, Philipp; Preuss, Michael; Grovenor, Chris R.M.
• Is Part Of: Micron. Volume 69(2015:Feb.)
• Page Start: 35
• Page End: 42
• Publication Date: 2015-02
• Subjects: Zirconium alloys -- (S)TEM -- Transmission-EBSD -- Transmission Kikuchi Diffraction -- EELS -- Suboxide -- Oxidation mechanism; Microscopy -- Periodicals; Electron Probe Microanalysis -- Periodicals; Microscopy -- Periodicals; Microscopie -- Périodiques; Microscopy; Periodicals; 502.82
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2014.10.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0968-4328

Abstract

Highlights: TEM analysis allows identification of suboxide at metal–oxide interface in Zr–1.0%Nb. EELS analysis confirms stoichiometric ZrO, Zr Transmission-EBSD confirms ZrO grains have the predicted hcp ZrO crystal structure. Abstract: Here we report a methodology combining TEM, STEM, Transmission-EBSD and EELS to analyse the structural and chemical properties of the metal–oxide interface of corroded Zr alloys in unprecedented detail. TEM, STEM and diffraction results revealed the complexity of the distribution of suboxide grains at the metal–oxide interface. EELS provided accurate quantitative analysis of the oxygen concentration across the interface, identifying the existence of local regions of stoichiometric ZrO and Zr3 O2 with varying thickness. Transmission-EBSD confirmed that the suboxide grains can be indexed with the hexagonal ZrO structure predicted with ab initio byNicholls et al. (2014) . The t-EBSD analysis has also allowed for the mapping of a relatively large region of the metal–oxide interface, revealing the location and size distribution of the suboxide grains.